Abstract:
Hardin Craig has stated that no Shakespearean scholar world discount the importance of textual criticism. R. B. McKerrow has asserted that no other area of Shakespearean scholarship is as demanding as textual criticism. Challenged by these comments, I chose to undertake a close textual study of Shakespeare's Othello. Although much has been written on the textual history of Othello, I discovered that many problems involving its sources, composition date, and printing history remain. Consequently, the aim of this thesis has ·been to re-evaluate the available textual scholarship on Othello and to re-examine the Ql and Fl texts of the play. Hopefully, the conclusions of this new textual study of Othello reflect, above all, mature thought and careful research.
